Attempt to Tighten Law on Ticket Resales Is Defeated

An attempt by artists, promoters, and the U.K. Labor Party to make the British law on ticket resale stricter has been dealt a blow with the government's successful motion to overturn the insertion of an amendment to the consumer rights bill. The clause would have forced ticket vendors to publish information on the tickets they sell, including who they purchase tickets from, their face value, and the tickets' terms and conditions. The government argued the measure could “overburden individual fans with red tape.” Culture Secretary Sajid Javid previously described websites that resell tickets as “classic entrepreneurs,” but the Metropolitan Police counters the secondary market encourages “unscrupulous practices, a lack of transparency, and fraud.” Prior to the vote, Labor MP Sharon Hodgson urged the government to listen to “consumers, the police, and the live event industry” instead of a small group of people and businesses making money from the “current murkiness and underhand dealings in the market.” Secondary ticket providers say the proposed amendment would have had unintentional effects, and would not be enforceable. Ticketmaster's Christoph Homann says the revision "would leave consumers open to a greater risk of fraud and potential loss where demands for additional information allow event organizers to cancel tickets.”